Featured Research

Raising adopted children: How parents cooperate matters more than gay or straight

Date:

July 13, 2013

Source:

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Summary:

A study suggests that whether parents are gay, lesbian or straight, how well they work together as a couple is linked to fewer behavior problems in their adopted children and is more important than their sexual orientation.

Share This

A study suggests that whether parents are gay, lesbian or straight, how well they work together as a couple is linked to fewer behavior problems in their adopted children and is more important than their sexual orientation.

A study suggests that whether parents are gay, lesbian or straight, how well they work together as a couple is linked to fewer behavior problems in their adopted children and is more important than their sexual orientation.

Related Articles

A new study by psychology researchers suggests that whether parents are gay, lesbian or straight, how well they work together as a couple and support each other in parenting is linked to fewer behavior problems among their adopted children and is more important than their sexual orientation.

Rachel H. Farr at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Charlotte J. Patterson at the University of Virginia report their findings from this first empirical examination of differences and similarities in co-parenting among lesbian, gay and heterosexual adoptive couples and associations with child behavior in the July/August issue of Child Development.

Farr, who led the study, says, "While actual divisions of childcare tasks such as feeding, dressing and taking time to play with kids were unrelated to children's adjustment, it was the parents who were most satisfied with their arrangements with each other who had children with fewer behavior problems, such as acting out or showing aggressive behavior."

"It appears that while children are not affected by how parents divide childcare tasks, it definitely does matter how harmonious the parents' relationships are with each other," she adds. She and Patterson also observed differences in division of labor in lesbian and gay couples compared to heterosexual parents.

The study suggests that lesbian and gay couples may be creating new ways to live together and raise children outside of traditional gender roles, the authors say, and results are important to adoption professionals and others who work with adoptive families. Further, the research is informative for those debating legal, political and policy questions about family dynamics and outcomes for children raised by same-sex couples.

For this study, Farr and Patterson recruited families from five adoption agencies across the United States. In total, 104 families agreed to participate, 25 headed by lesbian partners, 29 by gay male partners and 50 by heterosexual couples. Their adoptive children had been placed with them at birth or within the first few weeks of life; at the time of the study the children were all around three years old.

Parents were asked to report on the division of child-related labor between them and on factors of their child's adjustment. They were also observed by researchers who coded their co-parenting behavior during videotaped parent-child play sessions along scales rated for "supportive" and "undermining" interactions, using an established test.

The researchers discovered that lesbian and gay couples were more likely to equally share childcare tasks, while heterosexual couples were likely to specialize, with mothers doing more work than fathers in these families. In addition, Farr says, from the videotaped observations of family interactions, "it was clear that other aspects of co-parenting, such as how supportive parents were of each other, or how much they competed, were connected with children's behavioral problems."

Parents' dissatisfaction with division of child-care labor, not the actual division of these tasks, was significantly associated with increased child behavior problems. As the researchers had expected, supportive co-parenting interactions, such as greater pleasure and engagement between parents, were associated with positive child behavior for all three types of parents.

Overall, whether parents shared child care tasks or had a more specialized division of this work was not related to children's adjustment. The best predictor of child behavior problems was competition between the parents and dissatisfaction with child care labor divisions, which were not related to parents' sexual orientation.

University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "Raising adopted children: How parents cooperate matters more than gay or straight." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 July 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130713095246.htm>.

University of Massachusetts at Amherst. (2013, July 13). Raising adopted children: How parents cooperate matters more than gay or straight. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 31, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130713095246.htm

University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "Raising adopted children: How parents cooperate matters more than gay or straight." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130713095246.htm (accessed March 31, 2015).

More Mind & Brain News

Featured Research

Mar. 31, 2015 — During prenatal development, the brains of most animals, including humans, develop specifically male or female characteristics. But scientists have known little about the details of how this ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — A history of depression may put women at risk for developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to research. This study also pointed to how common depression is during pregnancy and the need for ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Women who are abused by their partner or ex-partner are much less likely to use contraception; this exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases and leads to more frequent unintended pregnancies and ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Video games not only sharpen the visual processing skills of frequent players, they might also improve the brain's ability to learn those skills, according to a new study. Gamers showed faster ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Children who play video games for more than three hours a day are more likely to be hyperactive, get involved in fights and not be interested in school, says a new study. It examined the effects of ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Differences in the way children and adults perceive the world extend to their sense of safety in their social and physical environments and this in turn can impact their health, say researchers. ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Searching the Internet for information may make people feel smarter than they actually are, according to new research. In a series of experiments, participants who searched for information on the ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — In addition to their physical injuries, women who are victims of domestic violence are also at a greater risk of mental health problems such as depression and psychotic symptoms. "We studied the ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — A unique pattern of immune molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome have been discovered, providing insights into the basis for cognitive ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Children who get a taste of their parents' wine now and then may be more likely than their peers to start drinking by high school, according to a new report. The findings are based on 561 Rhode ... full story

Featured Videos

AAA: Distracted Driving a Serious Teen Problem

AP (Mar. 25, 2015) — While distracted driving is not a new problem for teens, new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says it&apos;s much more serious than previously thought. (March 25)
Video provided by AP

Many Don't Know They Have Alzheimer's, But Their Doctors Do

Newsy (Mar. 24, 2015) — According to a new study by the Alzheimer&apos;s Association, more than half of those who have the degenerative brain disease aren&apos;t told by their doctors.
Video provided by Newsy

A Quick 45-Minute Nap Can Improve Your Memory

Newsy (Mar. 23, 2015) — Researchers found those who napped for 45 minutes to an hour before being tested on information recalled it five times better than those who didn&apos;t.
Video provided by Newsy

Related Stories

Aug. 16, 2014 — A study found that how 'in love' a romantic couple appears to be is interpreted differently based on the couple's sexual orientation, affecting what formal and informal rights people ... full story

Sep. 13, 2010 — New research on the children of LGBTQ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) has unequivocally revealed that they are not only psychologically healthy, but often appear to exhibit ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.